Bankruptcy Law

$11.2M Deal Covers Error in Enron Settlement Payout

Enron employees who lost their retirement cash when the company collapsed were disappointed a second time when it was revealed that a company distributing a $218 million settlement payout got the first distribution wrong. Additional payouts were left in limbo as lawyers argued who should be held responsible. Now the…

Mar 14, 2008 3:47 PM CDT

Lawyers Await New Century Examiner’s Report

A bankruptcy examiner’s report about problems at subprime lender New Century Financial could be unsealed as early as this week. The report is likely to address advice by auditor KPMG, which was involved in accounting changes that forced New Century to restate earnings in February, the Recorder reports. The audit…

Mar 10, 2008 1:40 PM CDT

Judge: Countrywide ‘Bungling’ Not ‘Full-Blown Bad Faith’

In a bit of good news for one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, which has been deluged lately with claims of abusive foreclosure practices, a federal judge in Texas said today that he won’t punish Countrywide Financial Corp. for its repeated mistakes in a Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy case.…

Mar 5, 2008 11:15 PM CST

Bankruptcy Lawyers Become a Hot Commodity

When business is bad, business is good for bankruptcy lawyers. As more big businesses seek bankruptcy protection this year, more law firms are gearing up to handle the work. In the first two months of this year, 18 big U.S. companies with liabilities over $12.4 billion filed for bankruptcy, double…

Mar 5, 2008 12:48 PM CST

Lawyers’ Letter Supports Cross-Dressing Judge

Bankruptcy lawyers have started a letter-writing campaign in support of a judge who was wearing a cocktail dress when police arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving. The campaign urges the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the resignation of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Somma, who pleaded…

Mar 3, 2008 6:52 PM CST

U.S. Trustees Seek Countrywide Sanctions, Allege Widespread Abuses

In a highly unusual action, U.S. trustees in three states are seeking sanctions against Countrywide Financial Corp., contending that the major mortgage lender has abused the bankruptcy process by making inaccurate filings and imposing unauthorized fees. The rare concerted filings today by U.S. trustees in Florida, Georgia and Ohio ask…

Mar 1, 2008 1:02 AM CST

NYT Supports Bill Allowing Bankruptcy Judges to Rewrite Mortgages

The New York Times is urging passage of a law that would allow bankruptcy courts to rewrite the terms of borrowers’ mortgages. An editorial says some big banks are getting behind other bailout proposals in an attempt to head off passage of the legislation. If the measure passes, it would…

Feb 27, 2008 2:56 PM CST

Loss of Bankruptcy Rainmaker Shows Weil Gotshal ‘Time Warp’

Partner defections in the bankruptcy department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges highlight a disagreement in the firm about how its pre-eminent restructuring practice should be integrated with the rest of the firm. New York lawyer Martin Bienenstock, the co-head of Weil’s bankruptcy department, left the firm in November to join…

Feb 25, 2008 12:38 PM CST

Bill Would Give Bankruptcy Judges Power to Rewrite Home Mortgages

A pending congressional proposal to allow bankruptcy judges to reduce borrowers’ outstanding home mortgages is running into some strong opposition from lenders. The measure, which could be voted on in the Senate next week, would allow the judges to change the terms of mortgages for primary residences, the Washington Post…

Feb 22, 2008 2:59 PM CST

DLA Piper Raids Locke Lord Bissell; 8 Restructuring Lawyers Jump Ship

DLA Piper has raided the Chicago office of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, persuading eight attorneys to jump ship and join the megafirm’s office there. The group, which includes both litigators and corporate lawyers, specializes in corporate bankruptcies and restructuring matters, reports the Chicago Tribune. It includes Timothy Brink, 42,…

Feb 21, 2008 8:00 PM CST

Big Bankruptcy Case Discovers Forged Attorney Opinion Letters

When opinion letters apparently written by a prominent New Jersey lawyer were sent to Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services in 2004 along with alleged fake financial statements, the bank reportedly took the documents at face value. Relying on them, it issued a multimillion-dollar loan to a now-bankrupt company. But now…

Feb 13, 2008 9:25 PM CST

Judge Raps ‘Cat and Mouse Game,’ Withholds Attorney Fees

A federal bankruptcy judge has refused to approve a fee request of almost $75,000 by a New York law firm because it did not clearly disclose the relationship between the lead lawyer and one of the unsecured creditors he represented. Lawyer Douglas Spelfogel of Berkman, Henoch, Peterson & Peddy of…

Feb 4, 2008 4:27 PM CST

Bankruptcy’s Back On

In her 30-plus years of practice, Houston bankruptcy lawyer Evelyn H. Biery has seen the tides of her practice area rise and fall. Right now, she’s happily riding a wave.

Feb 1, 2008 11:44 PM CST

Judge Dismisses Nifong From Duke Player’s Civil Suit, For Now

A federal judge in North Carolina has kicked a disgraced former prosecutor from a lawsuit brought by three wrongly accused Duke lacrosse players. U.S. District Judge James A. Beaty ordered that former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong be dropped from the litigation, at least until his bankruptcy proceedings are resolved,…

Jan 30, 2008 8:58 PM CST

Judge Allows Bankruptcy Trustee’s Claims Against N.Y. Law Firm

A New York bankruptcy judge has refused to dismiss a trustee’s claims that a law firm and two of its lawyers participated in a scheme to hide the identity of two bidders for the assets of a bankrupt company. Judge Martin Glenn ruled that the trustee had presented sufficient facts…

Jan 30, 2008 1:31 PM CST